My first interview

I was very nervous and had done some research online about British interviewing tips most of them were sort of what I would call "common sense" tips like be prepared, show up early, be confident etc.

I had read some comments around the web about panel interviews and it was a slight panel interview there were two people which I am not used to at all.

I feel that the interview went well and that I answered all their questions thoroughly.  The main difference I noticed were in the types of questions they asked.

It's usually been my experience that in the US they will concentrate on your resume asking about specific jobs and items mentioned on your resume (as you generally don't fill out an application)

They will also spend a lot of time explaining the position to you and then asking if you feel confident that your skills meet their needs.

This interview was a lot different.  The job was very well detailed in the application pack so they really didn't say anything about it.  The very first thing they started off with how I felt I could deal with executives and they asked me to asses what I felt were the skills needed for position and to explain how I met each skill that I thought was required.

In america you often get "where do you see yourself in ten years" and "what would you say are your weaknesses in a working enviroment"

The questions they asked me were much broader such as " tell us about three achievements you've made in your entire life" and " tell us about any times you may have done or said something you regretted in your life"

It's also been my experience in the states that they will ask you if you have any questions but it's usually at the end of the interview when they are throwing you out the door and generally they explained everything down to the minutest detail so it's often hard to come up with questions.  However, you often feel that they don't really want you to ask them anything.

Here they set aside a whole 15minutes for me to ask them questions and my husband warned me that they would want me to ask questions and I should have several prepared which I did. As they were answering I thought up a couple of continuation questions on the fly because I didn't feel I had enough.

This was a very good oppurtunity in a way because it allowed me to relay more information about myself that I thought they should know but by using a question.  I don't if that made sense but in a way I was letting them know but what I asked what I was looking for in a job and from the company but without being overbearing about it.

Again I felt it went well and I was comfortable I'm sure there may have been things I could have done better and sometimes its very hard to tell how you did especially if it seemed to go well.  At the very least it wasn't as traumatic as I expected.

That's great!  I hope you get the job, and if not, at least you've learned quite a bit about interviewing over here... which will be helpful on your next interview.

Good luck!  I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

I still have a hard time with interviews. I guess l still have the mindset that they are going to ask about my job skills and so on. I have only had about 3 interviews that asked me what my skills were and how l would apply them to the job. Well enough said l didn't get the jobs.
Finally, l get a good interview and wow l amazed myself and felt so professional in the job interview. It was weird, there was one question that l will never forget and when she asked me the question l don't know what happened but, wow l was spewing off something about behavior plans and assessing the situation and bam, l got the job l start next week.

Good luck on the job, let us know how it turns out!!

Good luck on getting the job Phena-Gen. Let us know what happens.

And congrats on the new job Trish. What will you be doing?

Trish, yeah I felt very confident and talkitive because the way they asked questions invited me to give a lot of information about myself beyond just my job skills.  I think it showed off my overall personality more and my general attitude that I would bring to any job.  I definitely found myself reflecting on things and being more open about things then I normally would have in any job interview in the US and I've worked in NYC, Miami and Florida.  I don't know yet if it was a good thing.

Sometimes I think the English will be annoyed by my NewYorker frankness and directness but by the tone of their questions and the open endedness of some of them it seemed to be what they were going for.

Thankfully they didn't go for the dreaded "what are your weaknesses" lol

Thanx for the good wishes, me and the pocketbook could really use a paycheck soon!

From conversations with my b/f before (he's a manager at his work), the questions they asked you do sound like more typical ones for the UK, in general.  Good for you for being so prepared for them - and good luck!!

From what he's said, a lot of what they're trying to do is get a sense of your personality (if you'll fit in with the rest of the team), your sense of honesty, determination and work ethic.  So they'll ask things like the "Explain a time when you were at your least honest", etc. to see how you react to such a question/what your reply is.  Goes along with why they want a personal statement on the cv's, in much more depth and detail than most US resume's would be.

And yes, Trish, congratulations on your new job!
~Christa

Thanks, the job is a family support worker. l will work closely with Social Workers and go in to help families. It will be challenging but l am so looking forward to it!